The Northeast Utilities and its partners are announcing new details about its Northern Pass Hydroelectric Project. The plan has come under fire from conservation groups, but the utility said it is listening to those concerns.

The utility has already secured rights of way along 140 miles, but locking up the final 40 miles has been a challenge because the Society for New Hampshire Forests has been successful in blocking the part of the route into the North Country. Northeast Utilities said it is addressing concerns raised by opponents, but a spokesman for the society said New Hampshire's soul is at stake.

"The main concern we have heard expressed is visual impact and the size of the towers. We're working hard to address that concern, (and) we've actually been able to reduce the tower height, the typical tower height, through the White Mountain National Forest to 85 feet," said Public Service of New Hampshire spokesman Mike Skelton.

"I don't think you can build more than 1,100 towers across 180 miles of New Hampshire without it having incredible impact scenically," said Jack Savage, of the Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Savage's group has raised more than $2 million to fight the Northern Pass. Savage said New Hampshire can allow Canada to export energy, but it needs to be done responsibly.

"Burial along state transportation highways is very viable and there are other proposals like that in Maine and Vermont, and that is the way it can be done while keeping what makes New Hampshire special," Savage said.

The utility said it will continue to refine the proposal and listen to public input as it goes through the permitting process.

"We see a lot of people who are very interested in the clean energy this project will bring, and the new taxes it will bring as well," Skelton said.